The Fog of Death and the Ray of Light
by Anomalis
Summary: The memories, they never fade. The blame, which never ebbs. The pain that never waivers. The distractions, only temporary.
1. Chapter 1

**_(Set the night after the Battle with the Colossus in The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle)_**

Nico sat up abruptly, his whole body shaking. He buried his head in his arms, his body covered with a layer of cool sweat. He opened one eye, looking sideways at Will, sleeping beside him. As he snored softly, Nico began to relax, the shaking slowing, until he sat still in the bed.

His head buzzed with the events of the past day, and the images of the nightmare he had awoken from. He saw the metal giant, Talos, looming above him, and his sister, his real sister, running towards it. She opened the hatch under its foot and climbed to the control panel in the head. She successfully shut the automaton down, but the victory was in vain. The statue staggered sideways, pitched forward and collapsed onto the electrical power lines that ran through the junkyard. The shock from the electricity killed her instantly, in spite of being a hunter of Artemis. She was never found. All that they found was that stupid lead figurine she got for him. It was a daily reminder of how cruel fate was, how unfair his parentage was, and how he had lost her forever.

"Nico!" Will had woken up without him noticing. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" he asked as he gently wiped Nico's tears away, the tears he hadn't noticed until Will had acknowledged them. Nico lifted his head and turned fully to face Will before dissolving fully into tears and collapsing into Will's arms. As Will gently stroked his hair, Nico explained what had happened to Bianca, how fighting the Colossus that day had caused these repressed memories to rise again, and how, by trying to make him happy by completing his childish set of characters, she had doomed her own life.

Nico's breathing slowed and he began to relax into Will's arms, but he realised Will had stopped stroking his hair, had stopped reassuring him that everything was OK. He looked up at Will, only to see tears of his own forming.

"Oh, Nico!" he sobbed "If only I'd known, I would've... I mean I could've... I-I wish you'd told me sooner, I could've helped you."

Nico gazed up at him. "Will, you did help me. I came from a generation when people, well, people like me weren't socially accepted. You helped me to become more confident about myself, healed my insecurities."

"Yeah," Will sighed, "that's all I'm good for, isn't it. Healing."

Nico reached out and cupped his face in his hands.

"That's what makes us different. A demigod of death and darkness infatuated with a demigod of health and light."

Will sighed, then smiled. "It's worth the effort to bridge our differences to make the relationship work."

They sat there quietly for a few minutes, the lack of awkwardness displaying the trust and comfort they now felt around each other. As Will wrapped one arm around Nico, he softly whispered "Kiss me. Doctors orders."

Nico turned to see his grinning face. He raised an eyebrow before wiping the smug look on his face as he kissed him. They lay there for a while, tangled in each other's arms before sleep pulled them under, and they dozed off, still smiling faintly in the moonlight.

 _ **Please let me know if you want another part of this or if you want a full story made from it.**_ _**(^-^)**_ **_That's all for now!;)_**


	2. Chapter 2

As Nico eased his eyes open, he was greeted with the foul glare of daylight, pouring in through the cabin windows. He yawned, inhaling a waft of fresh, strawberry scented air. He stretched, and sat up, looking around his cabin. Will had gone, probably to breakfast. Nico sighed, struggled out of bed and began to walk towards his closet. As he opened it, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see Will, standing in the doorway, holding a tray of food. Will grinned, before setting the tray down on the bed.

"I thought you might be hungry," Will said, "and since I'm your doctor, it's my duty to make your recovery as quick and easy as possible!"

Nico didn't say anything. He had nothing to say because he was afraid that if he did, his gratitude wouldn't be portrayed as sincerely as it should have been. So he just slouched over, sat on the bed, and started eating.

Will smiled and got up. "You want coffee?"

Nico looked up at him and nodded silently.

Will turned towards the counter. After the original construction of the Hades cabin, he had decided to do some renovatiouns. He had changed his bed into a double bed and had put in a kitchen area, allowing him to make coffee, toast, etc without leaving the cabin.

As Will made the coffee, Nico crept off the bed. He walked up behind Will before wrapping his arms around him. Will stiffened in shock, then asked: "Is this about last night?"

Nico nodded into his shoulder. Will turned in his arms before proceeding to hug him back. They stood like that for a while, as the coffee brewed behind them and they were absorbed into each other's warmth. Will looked down at Nico to see that he had fallen asleep again. He laughed, shook Nico awake and handed him his coffee. As he opened his mouth to say something, Austin burst into the cabin. His eyes were wide with shock, his beloved saxophone still grasped in his hand. "Will," he gasped, "there's been an accident on the climbing wall!"

Will winced, reluctant to leave his boyfriend but bound by his instincts as a medic. "I'll be right there."

He turned to Nico who had already drunk half his coffee. "You gonna give me a kiss goodbye?"

Nico scowled and muttered, "Can't. Coffee." He holds it up to exaggerate his point.

Will laughed, leant forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be back later, so don't do anything stupid until I get back."

Nico rolled his eyes and waved at him as if to say, 'Hurry up'.

As Will left, however, Nico smiled into his empty mug. He turned towards the bathroom and proceeded to get ready for the day.

With water still trickling through his hair, Nico headed toward the arena, determined to get some sword training done, now that his 'doctor' was busy. Half an hour later, he was covered in sweat, but feeling satisfied with himself. He jumped as Will suddenly spoke from behind him. Nico whirled around to face him. Will stood there, looking slightly upset. "I- Look Will," Nico started, but Will cut him off.

"I'm not upset about you training, I'm upset that I had to clean up your mess back at the cabin," Will said, exasperated.

Nico's eyes widened and he stammered an apology, before turning away.

Will sighed. "Seeing as your strength is almost back, how about we have a duel to test it."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Sure, but I thought you were a healer, not a fighter."

"And I thought you were too weak to fight," Will retorted. "I can give you another month of RR if you want."

Nico stepped back and drew his sword. "You ready?"

Will picks a sword up from on the ground. "You bet."

After sparring for about 5 minutes, Nico, despite trying to go easy on Will, managed to disarm him. Will looked discouraged as he watched his weapon clatter to the ground. Nico stepped back, looking indifferent. As he turned to walk away, an arrow slammed into the hilt of his sword, the impact knocking it from his hand. Nico looked down as the sword fell to the ground. He looked up to see Will standing triumphant, a miniature crossbow in his hand.


	3. Chapter 3

Nico frowned at Will. "I thought you couldn't shoot a bow!" he said.

Will grinned. "Well, it turns out a crossbow is different."

"Wait," Nico replied "when did you find out you could use it this well?"

"When I went to patch up those Roman demigods after their death-ball game. They asked how good I was with a bow while I patched them up, so I told them I was bad. Then one of them told me it was the same for him, but that he was really good with a crossbow instead. So I decided, what's the harm in trying. So I did. And I hit every single target!"

Nico nodded, then raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were just a healer though."

Will blushed. "I forgot, ok!"

Nico rolled his eyes, but half-smiled at him. Suddenly, Harley barrelled out of the workshop in a frenzy. "Will," he cried "you used the crossbow!"

Will burst out laughing. "Sure did, buddy! How did you know?"

"I heard it." He grinned. He started asking how it was, what had happened and if the bow had worked properly. Will started explaining, desperately trying to calm Harley down, who had grabbed the bow and was inspecting it vigorously.

Nico walked to where the arrow had fallen and tossed it over Harley's head to Will, who caught it without taking his eyes off of Harley, but grinned as he looked down at it.

Nico walked up to them. "It's more of a matchstick really."

"Whatever, Lord of darkness," Will retorted. "It's enough to disarm you!"

Nico turned and skulked off.

"Wait! Nico! I didn't mean it like that!" Will yelled after him.

Nico turned back, before dropping into one of the shadows formed by the forest.

"Nico!" Will shouted, "No shadow travelling!"

Nico didn't reappear. Will sighed. Harley looked on, appearing worried. Even someone as young as him could understand what was happening.

"Are you ok Will?" He asked softly. Will grimaced and nodded, not saying anything. "Is there anything I can do?" Harley continued. Will gazed into the distance.

"Sorry Harley, us organic life forms are much more complicated than your machines." Will whispered. "I just wish he wasn't so reclusive around other people. When we're alone he's so different. It's like he's afraid to be open about his feelings." He sighed heavily. "I just wish he'd show affection around everyone else."

Kayla pushes his shoulder playfully. "I thought you liked the dark, brooding type."

Will sighed. "It's not that. He just acts as if he doesn't care about me at all when other people are around."

"That's ridiculous!" Kayla scoffed. "You changed his whole life. He was at the bottom, and you guided him to the top. He cares so much, probably more than you'll ever know."

"Still," Will muttered, "a little affection wouldn't hurt."

And Nico, who was concealed in the woods behind them, wept silently. He had never known. But he promised that he would indeed show more affection from then onwards.

Later that day, at the campfire, Will was sat near the front. He sat silently, waiting for Chiron to finish speaking. He had a small statement, regarding the injury that day. However, that wasn't what was on his mind. He was thinking about Nico. It wasn't uncommon for Nico to be late to the campfire, or, for that matter, anything. But Will hadn't seen him since he had stormed of earlier that day. To put it simply: he was worried.

Chiron turned to Will, who was still deep in thought. "Will!" He jumped, ripped from his thoughts. The other campers laughed.

"I'm sorry." he said, and stood up. He cleared his throat, and was about to start, when he saw Nico walking towards the campfire.

He grinned. "Nico!" he cried, "I was worried about you! Are you ok? I haven't see you all day!"

Nico kept walking.

"Nico? You-you are alright?" Will began to get nervous.

Nico kept walking, getting closer, closer, closer. The neutral expression on his face intimidating at best.

"Nico!" Will cried, starting to get seriously worried about his boyfriend now. Only when they were 2 steps apart from each other, did Nico stop. The look of fear and concern on Will's face almost made him waver, but, no, he had to do this.

Nico took a deep breath, before closing the small gap between them, reaching forward, grabbing the back of Will's neck, and kissing him. In front of the whole camp. Will's eyes widened. He stiffened, as Nico pulled him closer, and tangled his fingers into his hair. Will still didn't move. Nico pulled away and tilted his head in confusion.

"Isn't this what you wanted?" he whispered, his voice husky from the kiss.

Suddenly, the campfire shot 5 feet higher in the air, and began burning a brilliant purple colour as all of the campers started whispering.

"I-I-I what?" Will stammered.

Nico grinned sheepishly. "What are you asking me?" When Will didn't speak, he laughed nervously.

Will managed to ask if Nico had heard his earlier conversation. Nico replied, saying that he had.

Will's heart felt like it was expanding, pressing against his ribs. "Nico," he said, "thank you!"

"For what?"

"For showing that you care!" There were tears forming in Will's eyes.

"No," Nico said, his voice cracking,"don't cry, because then I cry and I don't want to cry, not tonight."

Will sniffed and buried his head in Nico's shoulder. Nico pulled him towards his chest and stroked his hair. As he looked around the amphitheatre, he saw lots of campers giving him the thumbs up. They all smiled, supporting him, encouraging him.

Will pulled away, and Nico wiped away his tears. "So," Nico grinned," you want to go for a walk tonight?"

Will barely concealed his excitement. "Aren't the wood dangerous at night."

"Not when you're with me." Nico grinned, "but I was thinking the strawberry field actually. There something I want to show you."

Will nodded, and they ran off into the darkness.

"Hey," Chiron yelled,"Will, your report!"

No one replied.

 _ **Oh, hey there! XD Starting from next week, I'll be uploading on Tuesdays. I'm also going to try to write longer chapters at a time. Oh, and feel free to suggest any thing you would like addressed, or to request any characters you'd like to see. And finally, any mistakes I make (I know there are probably so many of them) feel free to point them out! OK, see you next Tuesday!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**_*Warning* Possible plot spoilers for those who haven't read Trials of Apollo yet! (Nothing too major, and if you're a fan it's something you'll be pleased to hear anyway!)_**

They pushed through the the bushes hands linked together. As they walked, the moonlight fragmented over their bodies, passing through the tall strawberry bushes. Will's eyes reflected the light, like a cats, unlike Nico's, who seemed to absorb the light. They also seemed to balance each other's auras. Nico, who normally caused the plants to weaken, but not die, was counteracted by Will's aura, where he caused the plants to grow towards him, drawn in by the light that he emitted naturally, as a son of Apollo.

They walked through the bushes, not a word was shared. They didn't need to speak, as they knew what each other was thinking, and the silence was peaceful, and somehow more romantic than their kiss at the fire. They were comfortable around each other, and didn't need words or actions to express their feelings anymore.

After about 5 minutes of walking, Nico stepped forward, pulling Will along behind him. They pushed through one final bush, before being met by a statue, about as tall as the Athena Parthenos, which was back at camp. The statue was white, with lots of interlocking pieces. It was shaped like an angel, the kind that they put on graves.

Will walked towards it, in awe. "Nico, what is this?"

Nico sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck. "I made it. It's a memorial for all the demigods who died in a way that meant they couldn't be buried. Those are bones that represent them."

Will ran his fingers over the bones, and felt engravings. He looked closer and saw that names were written into the bones: "Zoë Nightshade", "Lee Fletcher", "Castor", "Charles Beckendorf", "Michael Yew", "Luke Castellan", "Ethan Nakamura", "Silena Beaureguard", "Octavius", "Bianca", the list went on and on. Will reached out and rested his hand on the bone of Michael Yew. Nico rested his hand on Will's back, which had started to shake. "I thought, hoped even, that, even though we didn't find his body," Will voice cracked, his back tensed in grief, "that he had somehow survived."

"Are you ok Will, do you want to go back?"

Will whipped around, suddenly serious. "Nico, is this why you haven't been recovering properly!"

Nico backed up immediately. When Will needed to be, he could get very angry. He was like Annabeth; scary when angry, terrifying when in arms reach.

"Will, I only summoned them in small portions, gradually, not all at once." He sighed. "I-I felt responsible, duty bound even, to do this, as the ambassador of Hades."

Will looked into his eyes, tears still there, and noticed that there were tears also in Nico's eyes.

"You cry so quietly, Nico."

"I'm used to it."

"Then, why did you tell me not to cry back at the fire? You knew we'd both end up crying when we came here."

"This feels more private. I didn't want to thrust this upon you so suddenly."

Will nodded. He sighed. "Why can we never do normal couple stuff?"

"We're not a normal couple." Nico replied, looking wistfully into the distance. "Don't worry. Next time I want it to be normal."

"I'll wait for that."

They sat, in silence again, holding hands again, and watched the sun fall beneath the bushes.

Nico woke up to find the bed empty again. He sat up and a piece of paper caught his eye. Will never left things lying around. Nico swung his legs out of bed and walked up to the kitchen counter.

The note read: Nico, I have left this note because even though it's 10:00 am you are still asleep. I will probably be gone by the time you read this, but I'm going to see my family. I was going to tell you in person at the fire but in the heat of the moment I forgot. I will be gone for a few day, so try not to trash the cabin. I'm not cleaning up when I get home.

Will xx

Nico sighed, then headed out to ask Chiron if he could have some food.

After eating, and pondering what to do, Nico finally decided to go visit his sister. He hadn't seen Hazel for 6 months, not since Gaia. So he decided to risk a quick shadowtravel to get there. He faded into the darkness. The voices immediately began crying out for help in anguish, all of the lost spirits clamouring to try to get his attention. He almost lost his focus but managed to navigate his way through into Camp Jupiter.

He suddenly appeared at Hazels feet. His face was in the dirt, and he heard a scream. He rolled over and looked up at Hazel. "Hi," he grinned,"long time no see!"

Once she had got over her original shock, and helped Nico to his feet, Hazel immediately began asking him questions. About Will, about people back at camp, and finally, about Leo.

"That's why I'm here." Nico said. "Where are Jason and the others?"

"Here," a familiar voice said from behind.

Nico turned to see Frank, Piper and Jason all standing behind him.

"How long were you there for, Grace?"

"Long enough to know this is about Leo," Piper replied.

Nico sighed. "He came back. He was just lost in the sea of monsters that's all."

"Where is he!" Frank cried, "cause he's better be ready for a dead arm, that idiotic, irritating..." Frank trailed off, insults pouring out of his mouth.

"He's on a quest. With Apollo. Who is human now."

They all blinked.

"What?"

"Look," Nico said, "it's probably easiest if you guys come back to Camp Half-Blood. That way we can all catch up and everything."

They all looked at one another, before turning to Nico and nodding. He grinned.

"Ok, but, no shadow travelling. Doctors orders."

 ** _Sorry for the late update. I'll try to update earlier next time! Let me know any improvements, corrections or changes you want. Also, if you want to request a character, I can also do that. See you next week!_**


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

Nico pulled out a whistle, and blew it. The shadows in front of them instantly condensed into a large dog. "Heya Mrs O'Leary! Long time no see!" said Nico, addressing the dog.

She barked, and the ground shook. Nico turned to the others who were staring at her in shock. "What? You've seen her before!"

"I don't remember her being that big!" Frank protested.

Nico turned, inspected her, then turned and replied,"Nope, she's always been the size of a tank."

Piper interrupted,"Lets just go."

They all climbed onto her back, with Nico at the front, right behind her neck.

"Alright, lets go to camp!"

Mrs O'Leary didn't move.

"Camp Half Blood!"

Mrs O'Leary barked as if to say 'Well why didn't you say that!'

She bounded forward, almost unseating Frank, who was unfortunate enough to be at the back. They disappeared as quickly as she had appeared.

The second the darkness swallows them, Nico's head began to ring, the voices of everyone he'd left behind swarming around his ears, pressing against his temples and tear glands, desperate, trying to escape.

Mrs O'Leary's paws touched down on the ground, and he let out a feral cry. The ground began to rumble and Hazel's eyes widened. Bones burst out of the ground, knitting and weaving together, forming a solid wall of bleached white. These walls shot upwards, until they met at the top, creating a dome. The camp was suddenly engulfed in darkness. Screams and cries erupted as the campers realised that they were trapped.

Nico suddenly collapsed against Mrs O'Leary's neck. Frank heard it and immediately turned into a huge owl, and took off into the darkness, headed towards the infirmary. Jason thrust his hand into the air and called upon his father for a lightning bolt, if not to shatter the bones, but to give them light at least. Nothing happened.

Suddenly the campfire in the amphitheater flared up, and Jason, Piper and Hazel scrambled off of Mrs O'Leary's back and took off towards it.

As the campers gathered around, Chiron asked the councillors to head to the rec. room. When the three arrived, they were shocked at the lack of people. Apparently most of them were out with family, so the only ones there were Nyssa, Malcolm, Sherman and Miranda. They were all standing awkwardly around the ping pong table. Chiron sighed before heaving Nico off of his back. No one had even noticed him until that point. He lay Nico gently on the table before coaxing a little nectar down his throat. "Does anyone have any ideas about what to do?" Jason asked. There was silence for about 15 seconds, as everyone processed the weight of the situation they were currently in. The door suddenly opened and Clovis stumbled in. As usual, he looked like he had just rolled out of bed, but his eyes were fully open. He looked around, and his eyes came to a rest on Nico. He nodded, as if all of the pieces had come together, before walking into the room. He pointed at Nico, who had just regained consciousness, before saying "You did this."

Nico's eyes widened and he sat up abruptly. "I-I didn't want... I didn't mean to..." he started

Clovis waved him off. "It's ok, you didn't mean it. It's ok. I know how to reverse it." They all turned towards him expectantly. He took a deep breath before starting.

"You need to fight your inner demons. All you fears and insecurities that lie in your subconscious, you need to over come them. They've been causing your nightmares, and now that will isn't there for you, they've created this wall."

"Why am I not surprised that you know about my nightmares." Nico complained.

"That's what I do, monitor dreams. I'm not call the dream eater for nothing. Now, what were we taking about? Pillows? Oh, if you want a really good quality pillow, there's this guy-"

"No, dude, we where talking about inner demons! Nightmares Overcoming them!"

"Oh right. To fight them I'll need to put your soul into limbo. Your mind will enter a dream state in which you will take on a physical form. You would work through all of your dreams, eventually ending up in you worst fear. However, you demons will also take on a physical form, meaning if you die on the dream..."

"I die in real life. Got it."

"I'll guide you as much as I can, but this is mostly your fight. Nico you don't have to do this."

"Of course I do, we're trapped in here. If I don't, demigods will die outside of the camp! And, I'll never see Will again."

"Ok then. Let's get started."

Nico lay back on the ping pong table and stared at the ceiling. Clovis cleared his throat, before begin to circle the table and chant. Lights began to appear in front of his eyes, and he began to feel as if he was being pulled down, further and further until he was standing again. He looked around and suddenly a light appeared in the room he was in. His eyes widened. He felt like crying, and screaming at the same time as he looked around at the hotel.

 ** _Sorry for the short chapter, but I wanted to leave it on a lovely cliffhanger for you awesome people (hehehe). Feel free to comment all of your complaints. I don't mind I just love that you guys are reading my story at all. Thanks for existing you again people who are still reading my pointless footnote. Love all of you! See you next week!_**


	6. Chapter 6

Floor 1

Nico stumbled forward, out into the foyer. The casino games continued to ping, and every few minutes, the whooshing sound of someone passing through the water slide would break the continuous songs of the games. Suddenly, as Nico reached the centre of the room, someone dropped down, their legs tied in a bungee cord. He grinned but upside down, he looked he was angry. He was dressed in a very formal business suit, like he had just bungee jumped through the floor of a company meeting. Something was wrong, very wrong, but Nico couldn't put his finger on just what it was.

"Who are you?" he asked, "And why are you here?"

The man continued to grin, bouncing gently from the momentum of his fall. A chill ran down Nico's spine, as he realised what seemed so out of place. If physics were working the way they should have been, this weird man wouldn't have been here, he would have shot straight back up due to the elastic force.

Nico began to edge around the man, all while keeping his eyes on him. The mans head turned, following Nico. Nico continued to feel more and more horrified by this man, until his head had rotated 180 degrees. Nico couldn't take his eyes off of him for even a second, paranoid that he would do something even more ominous if he turned away.

Static filled his ears, clouding his vision. When he could see again, every arcade game was on a death screen, the waterside was running with blood that shone through the plastic and the man was writhing, contorting, changing all while bound in the cords.

"Nico! Nico! Can you hear me!" Clovis' voice filled Nico's ears. "Something I should have told you before you went in, on every level, there will be a monster that will try to kill you. To get to the next level, you have to kill it. It will always resemble something related to the fear of that level. For example, this one is the man who helped you out of this place. He is the demon because you associate him with one of the furies. And another thing, to identify the demon, you will need to notice something unusual about them. In this case, the lack of physical gravity and the owl like neck are two properties. To survive this, identify them before the demon can kill you."

Nico snarled. "Dude, you couldn't have told me earlier!"

"Sorry! I forgot"

"YOU FORGOT TO TELL ME THE MOST CRUCIAL DERAILS TO MY SURVIVAL!"

"Sorry. You should start running."

Nico looked up to see the demon rip its self from the cords. He turned and sprinted off down the hallway.

"Clovis, have you done this before." Nico huffed, whilst running for his life.

"No. Why? You should duck by the way."

Nico flung his head down, and an arcade machine flew over his head. He took a sharp right before continuing.

"You also seem very calm, considering that my life is on the line here."

Nico leapt into the elevator before violently stabbing the up button with his finger.

The elevator hiccuped, before sliding closed and starting to rise, all while making the sound of a banshee. Nico had experienced this first hand, and therefore was defiantly allowed to make the comparison.

"Where're you headed?" Clovis asked.

"The weapons store" Nico replied.

With a ding, the elevator doors slid open. Nico stepped out, inhaled deeply, before taking off again. His legs carried him in the right direction automatically. Ironically, the weapons store was where Nico felt the safest. At least, it was weird until he found out he was a demigod. And that survival instincts were buried deep in his genetic coding. He rounded a final corner before stopping in front of a door. It looked like a normal broom closet, but inside were racks and racks of swords. He reached out for the sharpest one, before withdrawing his hand.

"Clovis, this isn't a trick, is it?"

"No, but I would hurry it up if I were you."

The floor began to tremble, the sound of giant footsteps drawing ever closer. Nico pulled the sword from the rack, jumping back as the rest of the weapons crumbled into dust.

"I thought that that man in the foyer was the demon for this floor what's making these footsteps?!"

"The furies are shape shifters aren't they? Makes sense that a demon based off of them could shape shift too. Besides, a giant is better than a dragon, right?"

What didn't make sense to Nico was how Clovis was making more sense of his conscience that Nico was. Or how positive he could act in this stituation. Nico whirled around looking for an exit.

"Clovis, how can I get out of here?"

The same way you always did."

"No," Nico moaned, "please not that."

Clovis was silent. Nico heard the footsteps stop, sounding almost 3 meters away, right out the door. He gritted his teeth, turned, and jumped down the water slide tunnel.

 ** _Sorry for the late upload, I won't bore you with excuses. Hope you enjoy, don't forget to comment, and have a nice day! See ya next Tuesday! Thanks again!_**


	7. Chapter 7

Floor 1: Lotus Casino

Nico had to hold back his gags as be shot down the tube, the scent of blood filling his nose. He prayed that blood was the worst of what was inside of the tube. He couldn't handle a corpse, not now. The disgusting sounds of him travelling through the tube became muffled, background noise, as Clovis suddenly began speaking again.

"Dude, I'm so glad I'm not there right now."

Nico wanted to reply snappily, but was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would get a face full of blood.

Light began to shine through the cloudy redness of the tubes walls, and Nico reached the end, shooting out. He landed on something soft, and looked down. Thankfully he wasn't sitting on a pile of corpses, which was what he had expected. It was a pile of clothes, all mixed up and mangled together, as if they'd been pulled out of a washing machine.

Nico climbed to his feet, stood, and jumped off of the pile, landing gracefully on the floor. Clovis cleared his throat. "Nico where's that sword?" Nico's eyes widened and he frantically searched around. Rags flew in all directions as he tore through them until he finally found his sword. Just as his heart rate had begun to slow down after the initial panic, a massive thump rang through the room.

"You need to face it head in to defeat it, you know that." Clovis stated

Nico simply nodded, afraid that his voice would hint at the fear that was pumping through his veins. He stood, legs firm, knees motionless, before stepping out. The thing about Nico was that he would never show his fear through how he fought. This was a survival instinct, honed through his years of independent battle with monsters out side of camp. He headed towards the door, a battle strategy forming in his head already.

"Oh, Nico, you can't use your powers here. Just so you know."

Nico's mind went blank. Even in the most dire situations, he had always been able to rely on his powers. He took a deep breath before deciding on the main strategy. He would find a wide open space, meaning he could dodge the attacks of the giant without getting cornered easily. He closed his eyes, and imagined how amazing it would be to see Will again, to hold him, to touch his hair. He also thought about how, if he didn't do this, he would likely never see Will again. Or die in his coma dream thing. Either way, the options were fatal. He paced towards the door, before throwing it ajar, determined to intimidate his opponent. This was a regular strategy of his. He acted as if death was beneath him, and tried to keep his attack pattern unpredictable. This had saved his life many times.

Through the door was a large room, like a ballroom, except there were no tables or chairs. The room was a barren wasteland, void of decoration and excitement. As Nico glanced quickly around, he saw that it was his ideal fighting environment. Nothing here could get dammaged by him if things took a turn for the worst, and he couldn't be thrown into any chairs or tables in the process of fighting the giant.

The giants head turned towards him as the door crashed against the wall. His body was grey, and covered in scar tissue. He had a large double bladed axe sheathed over his back. The weapon seemed like something Ares would fight with. Nico narrowed his eyes, and his mind fixed solely on his adversary. In that moment, all that existed was Nico, the giant, and the sword. They both seemingly charge at the same time, both yelling, trying to scare one another. The distance between them narrowed, growing shorter by the second, until, when that were right on top of each other, Nico leapt straight up, towards his face. The giant had kept his hands low, expecting him to slide under him, but the surprise caught him off guard. Nico yelled as he slashed the sword across the giants face once, twice, thrice, before grabbing a handful of his hair and pulling himself towards his shoulder. Nico screamed as he slashed at the giants neck, instantly decapitating him. He slid off of the remaining corpse. He stood, waiting for some crazy shenanigans to occur. The giant would multiply, or grow two heads back, or form iron skin any moment now. Nothing happened. How anticlimactic. Nico kicked the giants foot. Nothing happened.

"Um, Clovis, what happened?"

"You won man, congrats!"

Nico frowned. Clovis continued, explaining how Nico's fear of the casino only seemed tough to defeat, but in reality, wasn't too formidable. He also said, that his other fears would be much worse. If Nico had faced this giant a few years ago, it would have been much more ferocious, but since Nico hadn't been afraid of the casino for quite some time, it wasn't as scary.

The giants body dissolved, leaving a puddle of golden light. Nico looked at it warily. "That's the passage." Clovis interjected

"Why is it so inviting?"

Clovis laughed. "I don't know man. Just jump into it."

Nico obliged.

 _ **Hey guys, I'm so, so, so, so sorry for uploading so late. My school work got to me. Next time I'll upload on time I promise. I'd rather upload this late than something I threw together last minute all rushed. I'm sorry, won't happen again. I really how to see you lot next week for another upload (on time). Byeeee!**_


	8. Chapter 8

Floor 2: ?

Nico dropped down into a sea of pitch blackness. As he turned around, torches lit themselves, until the circular room was revealed. It was the arena from the labyrinth. The banners and decorations were unmistakably the same. One of Nico's utmost fears while trekking through the labyrinth was being trapped here and forced to fight for his life. Nico looked down at his sword. It didn't really fit in his hand comfortably, and the weight was a little off centred, but it was enough so that he could fight sufficiently.

Clovis' voice swiftly cut through his pensive state. "Nico, listen, I can't help you on this level. I need to take a break to keep the connection stable, so I won't be able to talk to you. I'll be back once I've rested enough."

Nico sighed. He disliked being alone, it let the darkness close in, and the imagination run amok. He thought back to his earlier fight. It seemed like a dream compared to this place. He could feel his heart jumping around, thudding, and almost deafening him in the echoing silence. There was a theory that if you spend enough time in absolute silence, you would go insane. The longest anyone had lasted was 45 minutes. Nico took a deep breath before splitting the silence with his voice; "Alright, let's start to look for this boss then."

Although Nico had barely whispered the words, they seemed to echo uncannily around the room, as if the walls were muttering, talking about him.

Nico stepped forward, and looked around the room. There were two corridors that lead off in different directions. One was the entrance for the monsters that would enter the arena. The other was the entrance to the arena that spectators used. Nico started to walk towards that exit. He wasn't taking any chances that there could be more monsters. He had come to fight his inner demons, and that was what he was going to do, no waiting and no delays. As soon as this thought entered his head, he started to sprint, desperate to leave the arena and find the boss. He charged out of the arena, and straight back into it.

"What, this can't be right, I just left here." He frowned, then walked over to a banner. He cut it up, until he had a long thread from it. Then he tied it to a seat and headed out of the same exit agin. And, once again, he found himself back in the room he had started in. The string was there, tied to a chair still. Nico looked behind him, and the string was still taunt, like it was still tied to a chair. He tugged twice on the string, and, sure enough, the string in the arena he was standing in twitched twice. Nico's head reeled, and he sat down, hard, his head spinning. If this room was all that there was, where was the boss, how could he escape.

He sat there for about ten minutes, memories of the real labyrinth whirling around his head. Summoning Bianca had been traumatic for him. After all the rage and blame he had held within him directed towards Percy, the person he had fallen in love with, the only person he loved more had told him to forgive him, that it was her fault. He had wanted to tell her that he would gladly swap Percy for her, even die himself so she could live, but it had all been too much, he couldn't cope, could barely stand upright, let alone start a fight with her.

So he decided to let it go. Bit by bit, day by day, he slowly and gradually forgave Percy, and began to accept his feelings for him. However, once he was at peace with all of these things, the Kronos had begun to attack, and he had to save Manhattan, and Percy by putting him in the river Styx. And, upsettingly, Percy and Annabeth had gotten together after the war, and people quickly got bored of Nico's help. So he left, again, to escape his feelings. It was during that time, that the dead began to remerge from the Underworld. Nico rushed down, trying to find Bianca to bring her back. Bianca always knew what to do. After all, she helped Nico last time, why not now. But he was too late. Bianca had been reborn, and there was no way to get her back now. But, then there was Hazel. Reliable Hazel. Hazel who could navigate underground tunnels.

 ** _Guys I'm so sorry for not uploading. I hope to make up for it by uploading during this week. I've just been piled on with a massive amount of homework and stress. I'm super sorry._**


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